4 ms·
> if brute force didn't work, it just wasn't brute enough Arguably, upgrading to explosives counts as 'more brute'
by Sebb767 4y ago
> if brute force didn't work, it just wasn't brute enough
Arguably, upgrading to explosives counts as 'more brute'
- Tostino 4y agoThe missile they took it down with didn't have an explosive warhead. It was more like an arrow.
- ceejayoz 4y agoI've seen this claim several times in this thread, zero of them with a source. Meanwhile, the close-up video has clear evidence of a detonation. https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1621996717624393728 https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1621996717624393728
- grugagag 4y agoI see no detonation here
- ceejayoz 4y agohttps://imgur.com/a/y386kLU https://imgur.com/a/y386kLU The grey cloud is the explosion. Real-life missiles don't look like a Michael Bay movie, and the balloon almost certainly carried no jet fuel for combustion.
- grugagag 4y agoWhat makes you think that comes from a warhead and is not a reaction of the mixed gasses from the missle and balloon? I don’t even known but I suspect a warhead would not even detonate when piercing a balloon
- ceejayoz 4y ago> What makes you think that comes from a warhead and is not a reaction of the mixed gasses from the missle and balloon? The balloon is full of helium, notable for being unreactive. > I don’t even known but I suspect a warhead would not even detonate when piercing a balloon Sidewinder missiles have a laser proximity fuze. They detonate just fine.
- TheCoelacanth 4y agoHow do you know that the balloon is using helium instead of cheaper and more buoyant hydrogen?
- ceejayoz 4y ago1. Because it's unlikely. 2. Because it doesn't reallly matter; the "how did the missile detonate" question is readily answerable, and all that gas in the balloon is well above the impact site and smoke cloud. The parent poster expressed disbelief because of an entirely incorrect assumption about how missiles work.
- TheCoelacanth 4y agoHow is it unlikely? Hydrogen is a more common choice than helium for unmanned balloons. Only 12 of 101 weather balloon launch sites operated by the US's national weather service use helium[1], and that's with unusually cheap helium access in the US. I would expect other countries to use helium even less frequently. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/04/weather-balloon-helium-gas-shortage/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/04/weather-ba...
- ceejayoz 4y agoWe can conclusively settle the missile warhead question. https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3289888/gen-glen-vanherck-commander-north-american-aerospace-defense-command-and-united/ https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/... > GEN. VANHERCK: Yeah, absolutely. There was a warhead in the missile. You can see that explosion on TV as it goes through the lower part of the balloon and right there through the superstructure.
- Tostino 4y agoI've seen it speculated and took that for more than it was worth apparently: > https://newsrnd.com/news/2023-02-06-beyond-u-s--china-relations---high-altitude-balloons--are-indeed-a-military-problem.B1mOzw03i.html https://newsrnd.com/news/2023-02-06-beyond-u-s--china-relati... "Some military analysis also pointed out that the missile may not be equipped with a warhead, and the U.S. military only selected a favorable attack position after monitoring the balloon in the past few days."
- mhd 4y agoCanceled out by the smarter delivery. But I'm willing to allow HEI cannons instead of shrapnel shotguns. I mean, obviously the dumbest, brutest thing would be the jet equivalent of Ben Hur's wheel spikes. Sharpened wings?